Women's Entrepreneurship in Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Burma (Myanmar)

As a supplement to
the resources created through the Women’s
Entrepreneurship in APEC initiative, or WE-APEC, the USAID ASEAN Connectivity
through Trade and Investment (US-ACTI) project has developed comprehensive
reviews of the ecosystems for women’s economic empowerment in the three ASEAN
economies—Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar—that
do not also belong to APEC. The reports detail more than 100 organizations and service
providers that support women entrepreneurs and business leaders in these
important emerging economies.

Through both US-ACTI
and the U.S.-APEC Technical Assistance to Advance Regional Integration
(US-ATAARI) projects, both managed by Nathan Associates, the United States
leads efforts throughout the Asia-Pacific region to empower women in the
economy. Through US-ATAARI, Nathan Associates designed and developed the WE-APEC website, which includes information on the ecosystem that supports women
entrepreneurs for all 21 member economies of APEC, including the seven economies
that also belong to ASEAN (Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam). Through US-ACTI and in collaboration with
American businesses in ASEAN and the U.S.-ASEAN Business Council, Nathan
Associates has been promoting growth of women-owned small and medium
enterprises (SMEs) in the region through support for the ASEAN
Women Entrepreneurs’ Network, the GREAT
Women in ASEAN Initiative, and the ASEAN SME Academy. The ASEAN SME Academy provides online access to the women’s ecosystem
information, among other organizations, for the ten ASEAN member states.